Previously on 24: The 24 Blog Recap

OK, I know it is "M"s turn. She got kind of backed up, so I'm stepping in for her.

At least she won't be at a jewelry party tonight!

So, last week. Overall, a far better episode than the Big ZZZZZZZZZ of the week before. Here's who we didn't see last week: Jack's Dad, Rena, Rena's son, Walid, Sandra, the 28 year old President, and the weaselly character played by Chad Lowe. (Rumor has it the Principal Wood, I mean the 28 year old President will make a full recovery. Maybe by next season. In the meantime, we're stuck with the evil Veep and his blonde Toady.)

Oh, and no sign at all of Jack's mom. (I'm still holding out hope that Jack's mom is Karen.)

Sometimes I have a hard time trying to remember what happened last week vs. a prior week, so bear with me while I go back and check last week's blog entries.

Freakishly odd President Logan was back at CTU, and all peeved about being left alone in Interrogation. (I guess that once you get used to Leader of The Free World treatment, it is hard to go back to being an ordinary criminal.) He complains, and someone (was it Nadia? Milo?) tells him, look, we're up to our a$$es in alligators because of the international incident Jack has fomented at the Russian consulate. Logan says, get Buchanan in here, I can help.

(I think he also asked if Milo would pull him a soy latte with a pump of hazelnut; they've got a fully staffed hospital at CTU, so I'll bet there's an espresso machine in the CTU kitchen. And don't you think that Milo probably worked at Starbucks before he got his posting at CTU? Probably why Ricky Schoeder thinks Milo is such a waste of space. A hard-a$$ like Ricky thinks that "shots" and coffee should be mutually exclusive. And knowing how to make espresso? Poor Milo gets no respect -- and Starbucks has better benefits and a more collegial working environment than CTU!)

Oh, Ricky. As "M" points out, he is not aging well. And his character is a real sourpuss with impulse control issues. He grabs Morris by the throat for not fulfilling some IT requests. (Rack me some servers? I can't remember what he wanted.)

Milo tells Ricky to lay off his CTU team, which adds credence to my theory that Milo has taken some management courses. (Maybe something related to the Seven Habits of Highly Effective CTU Agents -- otherwise he never would have lived through 20 minutes in the field so that he could save Rena's life.)

It also proves that Milo and Ricky have "history".

Chloe starts pouting and giving lip again. Finally. I was getting worried. Her wrap dress may be Isaac Mizrahi for Target, but it shows far too much attention to non-IT, non-Jack related interests and had concerned me seriously. What could the writers have been thinking?

The reason that Ricky is here is to go in and extract Anatoly, because he knows where the canisters, I mean suitcase nukes are. Jack is initially viewed as expendable.

Jack has, I think, amputated Anatoly's finger with a cigar trimmer (ouch) in order to find out where the nukes are. He then escapes to the bowels of the consulate, where first gets Morris on the phone, tells him he knows where Gradenko is, and then is cut off. (How come Jack's mobile doesn't work?)

Then, Jack takes hostages. Two idiotic 20 somethings are making out in the basement. Jack sends the guy off for a sat phone, threatening to kill the woman. He then wearily and tenderly tells the woman not to worry.

There is more drama, I can't remember what happened when, but Jack cuts off power to the consulate by bashing his gun into a fuse box. "M" and Hubby are very adamant that I point out that this would have killed him.

Duh, if he weren't Jack Bauer!!!

And hello, a human living through this is not as implausible as the freaking consulate having power at all!!!! Hello, nucular suitcase bomb in Valencia. Even if no power plants went down, the man would be shutting down gas and electricity to prevent fires. The consulate shouldn't have power at all! (Although I guess they
could be operating on backup generators. )

Meanwhile, Logan has persuaded Bill to send him out into the field. Martha's living in a fairly nice pad in some kind of funny farm with Aaron. Aaron must have been doing weight watchers or something, he is long and lean. (Maybe Aaron and Martha live at Canyon Ranch.) Aaron brings Martha some fruit from the fruit market.

(Can I point out, fruit market. Nucular bomb? Or should I just let that whole thing go!?)

Logan's there to persuade Martha to talk to the Russian first lady, who needs to know that Anatoly is a bad guy and to give CTU permission to storm the Russian consulate. Odd, but not very interesting Logan, Martha, Aaron triangle, where Aaron and Logan are on the same side to persuade Martha.

Martha is crazy, but efficient. First, she stabs Logan with the kiwi knife. Then, she places her call. Successfully, because after the Russian president is not successful at geting Anatoly to give it up. (I think that Anatoly hangs up on him and books, but I was too hung up on the kiwis that Aaron brought to Martha to pay attention.)

Ricky and his tac team storm the embassy, there's lots of shooting, and Ricky and Jack meet each other. Jack chivalrously points out that the hostage chick has been pinned down by all of the gunfire...don't shoot her!

(I could find no record that Jack, I mean Kiefer and Ricky ever worked together in their pre-24 lives.)

Meanwhile, at the Presidential bunker, the evil Veep is talking with Tom about implementing Tom's eeevil plan to turn the US into a totalitarian regime (if TV hasn't already accomplished this) and about Tom not having been involved in the attempt on the President's life.

The evil Veep uses emotional blackmail to get Tom to blaming the assassination attempt on the dead Assad.

Karen, still at the airport, looks up from her Real Simple magazine, and calls Bill. It looks like instead of going to LA to be blowed up with Bill after all, she'll be heading back to the bunker. After all, she hasn't officially resigned, she has just abandoned her job during what might loosely be called a freaking disaster.

That's all I got. "M", anything else?